IPL 6: Bangalore eye a big win against hapless Delhi

Bangalore have won seven of their 12 encounters so far, and a win against Delhi will do them a lot of good where their play-off chances are concerned.

Delhi: Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to put one foot in the IPL play-offs with a win when take on the lowly Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla here on Friday. Bangalore have won seven of their 12 encounters so far and a win against Delhi will do them a lot of good where their play-off chances are concerned. Delhi, on the other hand, are out of the reckoning with nine defeats in 12 matches.

On form and paper, Delhi are no match to their South Indian rivals. Mahela Jayawardene made six changes to the team for their last match against Rajasthan Royals but that failed to bring good tidings as Delhi were pulverised by Rahul Dravid's men. Delhi's batting, bowling, fielding - everything has beggared belief this season. Virender Sehwag, Jayawardene and a host of other players have failed to blow any life into the team.

Bangalore, meanwhile, are in a much-better position despite the hammering they received in their last match against Kings XI Punjab: they failed to defend a mammoth 190 thanks to David Miller's heroics. But that was a one-off instance. On most occasions, Bangalore have been on the money. Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli all are scoring disdainfully. Their bowling led by Vinay Kumar is not as threatening as their batting but neither is it haphazard. Despite a few weaknesses, Bangalore should not have any trouble against a team that looks disinterested.

Surprisingly, Delhi have a better head-to-head record against Bangalore at 5-4. But all that happened in the past; it's another picture right now. It would be nothing less than a miracle if Jayawardene's men managed to hold off one of the tournament favourites on Friday night.

As far as team composition is concerned, Delhi are likely to field the same team giving "the six" another chance to make a mark. Bangalore too are unlikely to ring in any changes.